You have been injured in an accident and after going to many doctor’s appointments and missing a lot of time off of work, you can’t help but wonder how much your insurance company is going to pay. Chances are they will try to offer you less money than you deserve. A good personal injury attorney can help to get you money that will cover your bills, time off of work and emotional pain and suffering.
What You Should Do
In order to ensure a good outcome to an insurance claim, a person who is involved in an accident should call the police and wait at the scene until they arrive. It is important to get the names of witnesses and take pictures if possible. It is also important to request a copy of the accident report.
When you visit your doctor, make sure to get a full copy of their report as well as a copy of all medical bills associated with your accident. Remember to save receipts for both prescription and nonprescription drugs and get documentation from your employer as to how many hours you have missed off of work.
Once you have proper documentation, you can call your insurance company to file a claim. You may want to consult with an attorney before you contact the insurance company because a personal injury lawyer will be well versed in how to negotiate a claim. Even if you make the initial call to your insurance company yourself, you should talk with an attorney before accepting a settlement.
How Insurance Companies Calculate a Claim
When it comes to damages to your car, an insurance company will take the value of your car when it was new and subtract a certain amount of money for each year of the car’s age. They should then offer you that amount of money for the car. How they arrive at how much to depreciate may make the numbers come out in their favor, so it is important that you have an attorney who can do the research and make sure that the amount is fair.
When it comes to auto insurance, states in America employ one of two rules. Some states have a no-fault rule, which means that a person’s own insurance company must pay their bills no matter who was at fault. In a fault state, the person who caused the accident is responsible for the relevant expenses.
Although Oregon is technically a fault state, they also require drivers to carry personal injury protection. PIP insurance was established to expedite the process of paying bills related to an accident.
Your PIP will pay up to $15,000 for both personal injury and lost wages. Drivers in Oregon are required to carry $25,000 of insurance for injury to one person and $50,000 of insurance for injuries to more than one person. Your PIP insurance will pay the first $15,000 of your medical bills and after that, the at-fault driver’s insurance will pay the remaining bills. You may be compensated for medical bills and time missed from work up to the amount of money for which the at-fault driver was insured. You have the right to ask for compensation for future wages and future medical treatments. The insurance company may attempt to offer you less money than you would actually get for future wages and medical treatment.
You may also be eligible to receive benefits for emotional and physical pain and suffering. There are several different methods used to determine how much money you will get. Some insurance companies may offer you your normal hourly salary for the hours you spent treating your injuries. They may also add up the entire cost of your medical bills and lost wages and offer you a multiple of that number based on your level of pain. For example, if your medical bills added up to $1000 and your pain level was a two, the company would give you $2000. As you can imagine, it may be hard to convince an insurance company that your pain is at a level higher than one.
A trained personal injury attorney can help you get the money you deserve and that money can help you put your accident behind you. You can get more information here.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/personal-injury-protection-pip.asp
